Russia men's national ice hockey team
Vyacheslav Bykov |Asst Coach = Igor Zakharkin |Captain = Ilya Kovalchuk |Most games = Maxim Sushinski (100) |Top scorer = |Most points = Maxim Sushinski (80) |Home Stadium = |IIHF code = RUS |IIHF Rank = 1 |IIHF max = 1 |IIHF max date = first in 2009 |IIHF min = 7 |IIHF min date = 2004 |Team_Colors = |Jerseys = |First game = 2–2 (St. Petersburg, Russia; April 12, 1992) |Largest win = 12–3 (Bolzano, Italy; April 26, 1994) 10–1 (Riga, Latvia; May 7, 2006) |Largest loss = 7–1 (Helsinki, Finland; April 22, 1997) 7–1 (Moscow, Russia; December 20, 1997) |World champ apps = 18 |World champ first = 1992 |World champ best = 3''' (1993, 2008, 2009) |Olympic apps = 4 |Olympic first = 1994 |Olympic medals = '''1 (1998) 1''' (2002) |Record = 294-167-45 }} The '''Russian men's national ice hockey team is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world, rated number one in IIHF world rankings. It has been competing internationally since 1993 and follows a long tradition of Soviet Union team mostly composed of Russian players. The Russian team replaces the Unified Team of 1992. In 1991 and earlier, players competed with the Soviet Union national ice hockey team. The Russian team has not been as dominant as the Soviet team, winning the gold in the World Championships three times in 18 years but it remains one of the top teams in the world. Russia finished 4th at the 2006 Winter Olympics. The team is controlled by the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia. Russia has a total of 77,702 players, about 0.05% of its population. As of August 2006, their head coach is Vyacheslav "Slava" Bykov. The top three nominees for the 2009 Hart Memorial Trophy (the most valuable player award in the National Hockey League) all play for the Russian team: Alexander Ovechkin, Pavel Datsyuk, and Evgeni Malkin. Roster Olympic record .]] *1994 - Finished in 4th place *1998 - Won silver medal *2002 - Won bronze medal *2006 - Finished in 4th place From 1956 to 1988, the Soviet Union national ice hockey team won seven gold medals, one silver medal, and one bronze medal in nine appearances. The Unified Team at the 1992 Winter Olympics also won the gold medal. World Cup record *1996 - Lost semi-final *2004 - Lost quarter-final World Championship record * 1992 - Finished in 5th place * 1993 - Gold medal winner * 1994 - Finished in 5th place * 1995 - Finished in 5th place * 1996 - Finished in 4th place * 1997 - Finished in 4th place * 1998 - Finished in 5th place * 1999 - Finished in 5th place * 2000 - Finished in 11th place * 2001 - Finished in 6th place * 2002 - Silver medal winner * 2003 - Finished in 6th place * 2004 - Finished in 10th place * 2005 - Bronze medal winner * 2006 - Finished in 5th place * 2007 - Bronze medal winner * 2008 - Gold medal winner * 2009 - Gold medal winner External links * Canada Versus the Soviet Union (1972-1987) * Ice Hockey Federation of Russia Video * IIHF World Championship 2008 Russian team montage Category:National teams Category:Ice hockey in Russia Category:Russian ice hockey teams